UFC President Dana White first revealed the planned matchups to fans while in Ireland prior to heading to London for UFC on FUEL TV 7. Ariel Helwani of FUEL TV’s “UFC Tonight” said on Tuesday’s show that White confirmed the bouts.

UFC 160 takes place May 25 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main card will air on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and Facebook. The UFC’s 2012 Memorial Day weekend show, UFC 146 in Las Vegas, featured an all-heavyweight main card.

Velasquez will defend his heavyweight title for the first time since regaining it in December against Dos Santos at UFC 155. In that bout, Velasquez dominated Dos Santos for five rounds in a rematch from their UFC on FOX 1 meeting, which saw Dos Santos win with a 64-second knockout. The fight with Silva will be his second – he dominated “Bigfoot” at UFC 146 to get a shot at regaining his title against Dos Santos, who was the only man to beat him.

Silva will be looked at by some as perhaps a surprise challenger for Velasquez given that he was beaten rather easily by him at UFC 146. But Silva rebounded from that loss to beat Travis Browne this past October at UFC on FX 5. And he followed that up at UFC 156 earlier this month with a stunning upset of Overeem. In that fight, Overeem pretty much had his way with Silva for the first 10 minutes of the fight. But quickly in the third round, Silva came out slugging. He pushed Overeem to the fence and began landing at will until Overeem was on the canvas. After the fight, White said even though Velasquez had beaten Silva soundly in their first meeting, the way he went through Overeem put him in consideration for a shot at the title. Now he’ll get it.

Dos Santos, of course, will look to rebound from his loss to Velasquez at UFC 155 in December. That was his first loss in the UFC and came in his second defense of the heavyweight title after a win over Frank Mir at UFC 146. He’ll get a crack at Overeem, a man he was itching to fight while he was champion. He acknowledged Velasquez had earned his shot in December, but didn’t deny he was not a fan of Overeem and wanted to fight him.

Overeem will try to climb back from his first loss since September 2007. The elite kickboxer was supposed to have a shot at Dos Santos’ heavyweight title at UFC 146, but failed a pre-fight drug test with elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone levels. The Nevada State Athletic Commission would not consider licensing him for a period of nine months, which amounted, effectively, to a non-suspension suspension for the Dutch fighter. His return earlier this month at UFC 156 was supposed to be a top contender’s fight for him, with a win securing him a shot at Velasquez. But a loss set the former Strikeforce champion back in the pack.

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